cADP-ribose releases Ca2+ from cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum independently of ryanodine receptor

Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR), an endogenous metabolite of beta-NAD+, activates Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum in sea urchin eggs via the ryanodine receptor (RyR) pathway. A similar role has been proposed in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), although this remains controversial. We therefore investigated the ability of cADPR to induce Ca2+ release from canine cardiac SR microsomes using fluo 3 to monitor extravesicular Ca2+ concentration. We found that cADPR induced Ca2+ release in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas neither its precursor, NAD+, nor its metabolite, ADP-ribose, elicited a consistent effect. In addition, an additive effect on calcium release between cADPR and 9-Me-7-Br-eudistomin-D (MBED), an activator of RyR, was found as well as no cross-desensitization between cADPR and MBED. Specific blockers of the RyR did not abolish the cADPR-induced Ca2+ release. These results provide evidence for cADPR-induced Ca2+ release from dog cardiac SR via a novel mechanism which is independent of RyR activation.